Go Gentle, Good Night
by The World in Black and White
Summary: When Harlequin Munroe returned to that mountain, she expected a bittersweet weekend full of memories, friendship and, most importantly, love confessions. What she didn't expect was for her worst nightmare to come back to haunt her, and to be very, very real.
1. Chapter 1: Last Year

**A/N: Hey, and welcome to my Until Dawn fanfiction! This will feature an OC, and eventual canon divergence, so if either of those are not your thing, then this fic isn't for you.**

 **Just to let you know that I won't be writing the totems into this fic. I'll include all the clues, obviously, but I don't think that the totems are really viable as anything other than a gameplay mechanic, so they won't play a part in this fic.**

 **I have a quick question for you – how do you want me to write this story, in regards to the OC's part? I could write her whole section all at once, which would mean that the other chapters get published quicker, or I could write it bit by bit alongside the other characters' parts – fair warning, they won't change a huge amount until we get to the part where my OC interferes with the original story (hence the canon divergence) – and end up updating chapters slower because the OC's part is taken from events that happen much later in the canon storyline, and I'll be playing this through in chronological order as I write the fic. Anyway, let me know!**

 _Harlequin (Harley) Munroe_

 _Younger Sister of Mike_

 _Introverted, Meticulous/Methodical, Anxious, Sympathetic, Proper_

 _17 years old_

Harley shook her head in mild disgust as she entered the kitchen, eyes immediately drawn to Josh and Chris' prone forms, slumped over the benchtop.

"Hey… Did you see that?" Beth called to her, flicking her eyes over her shoulder before returning them to the window. "Dad said it'd just be us this weekend."

"I didn't see anything." Harley shrugged, walking past the boys and over to the window where Beth stood, peering out of it. "I don't think there's anything there."

"Ugh." Beth groaned, shaking her head with a sheepish grin. "Josh?" she called, approaching him. She reached out and picked up the empty bottle of Jeremiah Cragg, smirking when it proved completely empty. "Jeez, Josh. Once again, brother, you've outdone us all." She shook him gently chuckling when all she received in response was a soft snuffle.

"Don't encourage him." Harley complained. "The underage drinking is bad enough, thank you very much, and I would rather not watch any more friends drink themselves into drunken stupors, if you don't mind."

"He's 19," Beth reasoned. "And better here than at some frat party." She smirked when Harley visibly twitched at the reminder that her crush had started college that year.

"That doesn't even warrant thinking about." Harley grumbled, turning to look back out the window.

"Aw, jealous?" Beth grinned, reaching out and scanning a piece of paper she found near the door. "Oh my god. What'd my naïve sister get herself into, now?"

"What?" Harley asked, turning to look at her. "What is it?"

"Look." Beth replied, showing her the paper.

"Oh, for god's sake. He does realize he has a girlfriend, yes?" Harley sneered at the shoddy handwriting in disgust. "I hate my brother, sometimes."

"Great, we can start a club!" Beth said, anger colouring her words. Harley looked at her understandingly, flicking her strawberry-blonde plait over her shoulder.

Harley sighed once more, putting the page down and turning just in time to see a figure run past the window and out of the lodge. "Was that Hannah?!" she cried in alarm, already sprinting around the kitchen counter as Beth ran to wake Josh.

Harley reached the others in time to hear Sam shout Hannah's name. "Where's Hannah?"

"What's going on? Where's my sister going?" Beth demanded, pushing through them and standing next to Harley.

"It's fine, she just can't take a joke." Jessica dismissed, waving her hand before turning to return to the warmth of the lodge.

"It was just a prank, Han!" Emily called, voice mocking in its insincerity.

"What did you do?!" Harley cried.

"We were just messing around, baby, it wasn't serious." Mike attempted to soothe his younger sister, hands raised pleasingly.

"You jerks!" Beth shouted, and both she and Harley ran after Hannah.

"Harley! Wait!" Mike shouted.

"You know, I kinda think you're the last person they would want to see right now, Mike." Sam sneered, stopping his pursuit with a sneer as she stormed past him and into the lodge.

0o0o0

Beth ran through the woods in pursuit of her sister, Harley falling somewhat behind as her short stature and sedentary lifestyle fought against her.

"Shit!" she cried, batting at branches that flew over Harley's 5ft head – Beth made a mental note to tease her about that, later.

They came to the end of the path, reaching a wooden construction with a stairwell to the right and a sizeable drop directly ahead. "Come on!" Beth urged, pulling Harley towards the fall. Beth jumped off elegantly, landing with ease, while Harley sat on the edge and fell, squealing softly as she immediately sprung backwards, landing on her bum. "Come on." Beth chuckled softly, helping her up and urging her back into a brisk jog.

They reached a fork in the path, and while footsteps led off to the left, the distinctly head something moving away from them to the right.

"Um…" Harley looked between them indecisively. "I'll go this way; you go that way." She told her friend, indicating that she would follow the footprints.

"Are you sure?" Beth asked, protective of her shy, young friend.

"Yeah." Harley nodded.

"Alright." Beth confirmed, turning and running down the right path.

Harley took a deep breath, wincing as the stitch in her side pulled, before forcing herself to run down the left. She jogged around the corner, coming to a stop when she saw the herd of elk that blocked her path. She debated for a minute, before sobbing once in defeat and forcing herself forwards, jumping in fear when the elk suddenly bounded away.

"Gods," she gasped, bending over with one hand braced on her chest and the other on her knee. "That scared the shit out of me." Almost immediately after the words left her she heard a branch snap behind her. "Jesus!" she shrieked. "Fuck!" she sighed, shaking her head before continuing on. "Damnit, Hannah. Where are you?"

She winced when she saw the drop, once again sitting before pushing off. She sighed in relief, punching the air happily when she landed on her feet, before pulling out her phone to light the dark path.

"Hannah?" she called, squinting and cursing herself for not wearing her glasses.

She walked along, screaming once when an elk shot past her and into the trees on her right, and then again when she saw a burst of flame to her left, but she pushed on, eventually finding two figures standing in front of her. "Hannah! Beth!" she called, jogging over to them and slipping her phone back into her pocket, zipping it up.

"Harley!" Hannah cried, throwing her arms around her friend and pulling her under her chin with ease.

"Hannah…" Harley sighed in relief, returning the embrace, before sharing a similar hug with Beth. "What happened?"

"I'm such an idiot. I'm so dumb!" Hannah told them tearfully, about to launch into a rendition of events when a terrible shriek forced them to look back the way they came.

"Oh gods, what is that thing?" Harley cried, backing away with the other two before they all turned tail and ran. She couldn't stop the sob tearing from her throat when she distinctly heard something giving chase.

They ran towards a small bridge, Hannah crying out as she fell. Beth ran back to her, pulling her up as Harley kept a vigil, unable to see whatever was chasing them. Beth's phone fell through the wooden planks, but they made a unanimous decision to leave it and continue running.

"Oh, Jesus Christ." Hannah whimpered when they reached the cliff, Harley standing off the the side while the two sisters stopped right in the middle of it.

"What do we do?" Harley sobbed. She saw the twins link hands as they backed further towards the cliff edge, and found herself imitating them, standing to their left but backing away in fear from the monster that approached, eyes fixed firmly on the twins.

"No!" Beth cried. "No! Shit! No… Get back!" she cried. "Fuck!"

Harley's eyes widened in horror as she watched Hannah step back once more, leaning her weight on a sign which immediately broke in half. "Hannah! Beth!" she screamed as her friends disappeared below the cliff edge, not paying attention to where she was going and screaming just as loud when she fell, clinging to the side of the icy mountain with everything she had. "Oh, god. Oh, god, please." She wept, desperately trying to pull her self back up but slipping every time.

She heard the horrible sound of her friends screaming, the distinct sound of them falling, and the sickening sound of bodies hitting the rocks below. "No!" she screamed, tears and mucus running down her face as she grieved.

Determined to live, she redoubled her efforts, adrenaline pumping through her body as she scrabbled for purchase, pulling herself up and over the side of the rock just in time to see a man dousing the monster in flames. She heard it shrieking in pain and rage, but he refused to relent, his flamethrower spewing flames until finally the creature laid, dead.

He turned to her, and she cried out in fear and pain as her now bloodied fingers desperately pulled her body over the side of the cliff. He knelt beside her, one hand holding the flamethrower while the other wrapped itself underneath her shoulders and around her torso, before pulling her up and into his arms. She wept, clinging to the stranger that had just saved her life as he kept one arm holding her up, all the while scanning the trees with a mistrustful glare.

"We gotta go." He told her, in an accent she couldn't place. "Come on." He yanked on her arm to get her to move, but her vision was closing in.

"I… I don't…" was all she was able to say, before she fainted.


	2. Chapter 2: Memento Mori

**A/N: there's definitely a dynamic between Harley and the other characters that I'm trying to convey – I think it's fairly natural to be overprotective after what happened 'last year'. As a result of Harley's involvement with the incident, her friends are more protective and Mike's character will be different because of it, if not a little overbearing. She's always been the 'baby' of the group, as one of the youngest (Ashley is also 17) but also the smallest.**

Harley looked to her right, seeing Sam stare out the window with her earbuds plugged in, listening to the radio. Harley knew what she was listening to – the radio announcer interviewing the Sheriff that knew nothing in an attempt to generate sympathy from the public. Pathetic.

She turned her own music up, leaning back in her seat and staring at nothing in particular. She had difficulty remembering what happened that night – the doctor told her it was probably a result of the trauma, that her mind had locked it away to protect her, but some nights she would see horrific visions of fire and creatures unlike anything she knew existed as she dreamt. She would always wake up screaming from those, her brother's arms around her.

Mike had taken to sleeping on the couch in the area that separated their two bedrooms immediately after the incident, and he was always the first to respond to her nightmares, even now. She knew he blamed himself – a small part of her blamed him, too – but she couldn't bring herself to confront him about it. If he cried, some nights, when he rocked her back to sleep, well… no one was around to see it.

Looking over at Sam again, she saw that her friend had switched over to Josh's 'introductory' video that he had sent them all. She felt her eyes soften at the thought of him, how many nights they had spent curled together, grieving and comforting one another in the light of their 5th movie for the night. They talked over chess – Josh losing spectacularly every time – and laughed over video games. She blushed softly – if she had a crush on him before, she knew she was in love with him now. Not that he knew that.

Sighing to herself, she rolled her eyes in self-disgust at the thought of all the opportunities she had over the past year to tell him how she felt, always too cowardly, too afraid of his rejection to do so. She felt that he probably saw her as a sister – ever since the day she met the Washington twins, she had been a small part of their family, and she missed those days, when things were so simple and they were all so young and innocent. There were no unrequited romances, no grudges and backstabbing, no Queen B's out to get them. It was just the three of them, forgetting to put the lid on the blender and spending three hours trying to clean the mess before Mrs Washington got home.

Harley closed her eyes against the tears, feeling Sam take hold of her wrist in a comforting gesture and looking up to see the bus had stopped. The two of them stepped off, Harley shivering softly as the cold air hit them. She looked up at the sign. "Blackwood Pines." She read, smiling as she reached out to take Sam's hand and let the blonde lead her up the path, opening the gate.

They walked through, stopping when they heard rustling. "Hello?" Sam called. "Is someone there?"

"I don't think there's anything." Harley told her, tugging at her hand to get her to move. "It's probably just an elk, or a squirrel or something. Don't worry about it." They continued down the path, reaching the gate.

 _The gate's busted, climb over!_

 _-Chris_

"Oh, what? Damn it." Sam swore, muttering under her breath as she replaced the note and led her small friend over to the wall to the left of the gate. "If I give you a leg up, do you reckon you can manage?" Sam asked, already kneeling down to do so.

"Yeah, thanks Sam." Harley smiled, putting one foot on her friend's knee and letting Sam hold her other leg, pushing it up so Harley could get a grasp on the wall. Harley took the foot from Sam's hands, bracing it against one of the stones, before moving the other leg even higher up the wall. She stood on her left leg, lighting her right up and pulling herself up by her hands. Once she braced her right foot, she stood up on it and managed to grab the top of the wall, hauling herself up with a grunt. Sam followed quickly, leaping up the right side of the wall to drop down on the other side, reaching up to catch her friend as she sat and pushed off.

"You alright?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. That was fun!" Harley told her with a soft laugh. "Worry wart." She added, dodging Sam's half-hearted swipe with a giggle, jogging off down the path and slowing to let Sam's longer stride catch her up with ease.

They approached the stairs, and stopped when a squirrel stepped into the light. "Aw," Sam cooed. "Hey little fella. You hungry?" she asked, kneeling down and holding out her hand, acorn perched in her palm. Harley held her breath, staying as still as possible, as the squirrel accepted the acorn from Sam and darted back into the trees. "Cutie." Sam chuckled, wiping her hands off on her skirt as she stood.

They continued walking, stopping once more when a sign caught Harley's attention. "Wow…" she murmured, reading it.

"What is it?" Sam asked, peeking over her shoulder.

"It's about the indigenous people and how they believed that butterflies carried 'prophecies of possible futures'," she quoted. "Apparently they believed that depending on the colour of the butterfly, it would signify a potential event in the near future. Like, black was for death, and yellow for guidance. White is fortune – sounds good. Red is danger."

"Less good." Sam added, laughing along with Harley as they continued up the stairs and towards the cable car station. "Wow, graffiti all the way up here?" she asked, looking at it.

"That's rather macabre." Harley noted, backing away from the writing with an uncomfortable expression. They walked back towards the cable car station, approaching the bench outside of it.

"Chris?" Sam called. "Are you here?" she looked around suspiciously. "Your bag's here, where are you? You're not in the bag, are you?!" she called, making Harley giggle softly.

They leant forward, hearing the distinct sound of a phone on vibrate. "Hello, what do we have here?" Sam asked rhetorically, leaning forwards only to start in shock when Harley's hand reached past her and promptly shut the bag.

"No snooping." Harley told her, arching an eyebrow as Sam grinned sheepishly.

"I gotcha." Sam said, turning to look around. "Chris!"

"Sam! Hey." Chris greeted, appearing from behind them. "You made it." He looked past her, eyes falling on Harley. "Harley! How's my favourite baby girl?" he cooed, lifting her off the ground in a bear hug.

"Oof!" She gasped for air, laughing when he spun her around before placing her back on the ground. "Better now!" she told him, grinning from ear to ear at her two best friends.

"Oh! So, I found something kinda amazing." Chris told them, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and linking his other arm with Harley's.

"What?" Harley asked.

"I'm not gonna tell you, you've gotta see for yourself. Come on, it's this way." He replied.

"Where?" Sam asked, sighing in exasperation.

"Right around this way. Come on," he cajoled. "It's gonna blow your mind." He enthused, gesturing an explosions around his own head to emphasize his point.

"Oh man, look at this." Sam said.

"Nice. Think we'll get a visit from America's Most Wanted?" Chris snorted.

"Looks like someone thought so." Harley said, shoulders coming up in irrational fear.

"Hey," he soothed, "this place is abandoned for most of the year. No one's gonna be up here." He kissed the top of her head softly, arm tightening around hers as he led her around the back of the building.

"Well, if we see any 6'2" males named Victor Milgram convinced it's 1998, call ghostbusters." Sam joked, smiling victoriously when Harley giggled in response.

"Ta Dah!" Chris spun to face them, arms spread out to either side. "Pretty rad, right?"

"Cool!" Harley bounced over to him, leaning against the railing to peruse the shooting range.

"Yeah…" Sam said, considerably less excited.

"Aw, come on! Look at these beauties!" Chris grinned.

"Beauties is not the word that comes to mind. Why is this even here?"

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, leaning against the post.

"What the hell is a shooting range doing at the base of a ski lodge?!" Sam asked in exasperation.

"Dude." Chris said, picking up the gun. "Have you ever met Josh's dad?"

"Guy thinks he's Grizzly Adams, or something." Harley snorted.

"Totally." Chris agreed. "How about it, Princess? You wanna have a try?" he offered.

"Yes, please!" she responded, taking the gun – much to the obvious surprise of her friends.

"Um…" Chris floundered, obviously at a loss. "Just, uh… be careful, okay? Don't, like-" he cut off when she raised the gun and shot at the far left sandbag with expert precision.

"You were saying?" she grinned.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?" Chris demanded.

"Mr Washington takes me to the shooting range once a month. Hannah and Beth weren't interested, and we all agreed that Josh should stay as far away from firearms as possible." They all shuddered, remembering the disastrous BB Gun incident of 2006. Harley raised the gun once more, easily firing off another bullet into the far right can, followed by the can on the ground to the left, and the upper right sandbag.

"Nice shooting, Tex." Sam grinned, sidling up to her friends.

"All right, I'm a badass." Harley smirked, the two giggling as Chris sulked. Sam pointed to a bottle, the farthest away and to the right, and Harley raised the gun, shooting it with ease.

"Oh, please. Anybody and their brother could shoot a bottle that big, that close." Chris bragged, clinging to his masculine pride.

"Oh yeah?" Harley raised an eyebrow, holding out the gun with one hand. "Go on, bro." She and Sam smirked when he visibly gulped, reaching out and taking the gun.

Sam looked out onto the range as Chris cocked the gun, holding it up to fire. She tensed, seeing the squirrel on the barrel to the right and glaring at the back of Chris' head.

"Chris." Harley said. "You shoot that squirrel, and I shoot you." Chris felt a chill run down his spine at her words, but he promptly fired a bullet into the far left sandbag.

"Nice shot." Sam complimented.

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess it was a wild case of beginner's luck." Harley smirked, readjusting the strap on her backpack and taking a step towards the cable car station.

"No, I don't think so, girl." Chris told her, holding up the gun once more. Harley sighed in mock disgust, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, sharpshooters, our ride is coming." Sam told them, gesturing towards the cable car.

"What?" Chris cried in mock outrage. "I'm just getting the hang of this!"

"You keep telling yourself that." Harley told him breezily, flicking her hip-length plait in his face as she past him and giggling when he spluttered indignantly. "Alright there, Chris?" she teased.

"You're just mean." He pouted. "Does your brother know you spend so much time at the shooting range?" he asked suddenly, clearly hoping to blackmail her.

"Yeah." She shrugged. Both Sam and Chris stared at her incredulously, unable to believe that overprotective Mike (who seemed fully determined to pretend his sister was eternally 7 years old) would actually let her touch a gun. "He thought it was a good idea."

"Did he?" Sam asked. "Or did you tell him he did?"

"Is there a difference?" Harley countered, all three of them laughing as they approached the station. "This place hasn't changed a bit." She said suddenly, changing the subject.

"Yeah. A year goes fast." Chris replied. "It's almost weird being back."

"Like we shouldn't be here." Harley agreed, as Sam reached out to try the door.

"Hey, that's weird. The door's locked." Sam told them, stepping back from it.

"Yeah. Josh wanted us to keep it locked, keep people out." Chris told them, only realizing his mistake when Sam glared pointedly at him before flicking her gaze to a pale Harley. "I mean, he said they found some people sleeping in the station one time. Years ago." He hurried to add, grimacing apologetically when Harley just glared at him before staring pointedly at the door. "On it." He saluted, unlocking the door with ease. "After you," he said, holding it open for the both of them.

"A real gentleman." Sam teased. She and Harley approached the railing, watching the cable car approach, while Chris entered the small control room.

"What a crazy place to set up house." He noted, looking at the poster for the _Blackwood Hotel and Sanatorium._ "No matter how rich you are." He continued.

"They're not so rich." Harley defended.

"They only bought a mountain!" Sam said sarcastically.

"Ugh, I thought this thing was closer!" Harley whined, bouncing to keep warm.

"Guess we gotta wait." Chris shrugged, stepping out to stand with them. "Look, it's here." He gestured.

"No, it's there. Now it's here." Harley replied, sniffing as she lifted her nose into the air and stepped past a mock-bowing Chris and onto the cable car. "You coming?"

"Well, I was gonna stay here and catch some z's, but…" he trailed off, catching the arch looks both females were shooting them. "Okay…" he sighed in defeat, stepping on to the cable car. "Just like going to the prom." He said as he sat down, next to Sam and across from Harley, who didn't seem to be paying either of the any attention.

"Here we go!" Sam said excitedly as the cable car began to move.

"Right, adventure begins!" Chris cheered.

"Oh, I really hope this was the right thing to do…" Sam whispered to him, nudging her head pointedly at Harley, who was staring out of the window, seemingly lost in thought.

"Yeah. I mean, Josh seemed really pumped about all of us doing something, though, didn't he? More excited than I've seen him in… forever." Chris shook his head.

"That's good, though It's hard to tell with him and… I've been kinda worried." Sam admitted. "About both of them." She looked over to Harley once more. The strawberry blonde had her eyes closed now, leaning against the window.

"I… I think this will be good for them. I think I was a good idea." Chris said, obviously unconvinced.

"I hope everyone else feels the same way." Sam sighed.

"We're all here, aren't we?" he gestured around the cable car demonstratively. Sam chuckled, punching his arm softly.

"Thanks, bro! Good talk."

"You know what… let's just stop talking about what happened and enjoy the trip." He told her.

"You're right." Sam smiled softly. "And when you're right, you're right."

"Hey, you know how Josh and I met?" Chris asked, leaning across to catch Harley's attention. She shook her head mutely, even as Sam responded audibly.

"Okay," he started, shifting in his seat to face both on them. "Third grade; Josh sat in the back of the room, I sat in the front. We didn't even know each other existed. But," he raised a finger dramatically, earning an eye roll from both of them, "the kid sitting next to Josh started snapping the training bra on the girl in front of him, so the teacher made him move to the front, where I was sitting."

"Okay, so…?" Sam raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"So," he grinned, "I got moved to the back!"

"And…?" Harley prompted.

"And next to Josh! That's how we met! And became friends, to this day."

"A match made in heaven." Sam said dryly.

"What's the point?" Harley asked, frowning a little in confusion.

"The point," he emphasized, "is that if it weren't for the fact that Jeanie Simmonds hit puberty like, three years early and on that day decided to wear a low-cut shirt that showed off her training bra – who knows? You could be riding in this cable car by yourselves, or talking to someone else entirely. Boom, butterfly effect." He grinned.

"I dunno…" Harley murmured, catching their attention. "Isn't it nice to think that, no matter what, you would have been friends? That that's just the way it is? Friends, forever."

Sam raised an eyebrow at Chris, grinning softly.

"Yeah. I'd like to think so." He told her genuinely, smiling when she smiled back.

0o0o0

"Whoo! New people; time to meet and greet." Jessica told herself, standing and walking up towards the door to the cable car station. "Aah!" she squealed in alarm as something slammed against the door. "What the hell?!"

"Jess! Hey!" Chris called.

"Uh, are you guys having a really weird stroke?" she demanded, glaring at them.

"We're stuck in this stupid thing." Chris explained.

"Can you please let us out? Pretty please?" Sam pleaded. Jess sighed, almost contemplating walking away before noticing the small head of strawberry blonde that stood behind them. Reminding herself to be as nice as possible to her boyfriend's baby sister – especially after what happened last year – she pasted a smile on her face and pressed the green button beside the door, opening it.

"Oh. My. God. I thought we were goners. Another ten minutes in there, and I would've chewed off my own leg." Chris said sarcastically.

"Aw, sick, Chris." Sam grimaced, disgusted along with Jessica.

"At least we wouldn't have gone hungry." Harley teased, poking her tongue out at Chris with a smirk, dodging his swipe.

"Look, I got a lot of meat on my bones. This is all muscle down here." He told them, gesturing up and down his thigh for emphasis.

"Yeah, right." Sam drawled. "Uh-huh."

Chris smirked back at her, before zooming in on the letter in Jessica's hand. "Fwoop!" he snatching it from her hands playfully.

"Hey!" Jess protested, reaching out for it and huffing when Chris holds it out of reach.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he chuckled.

"Chris." Harley said, voice short as her anger grew.

"My goodness." He said, voice mock-shocked as he raised his index finger to fend off their protests. "Seems like someone has a lil' crush on our good friend and dear class president Michael Munroe."

"Chris." Harley repeated.

"And what kind of sizzling erotica might our Jessica be capable of imagining?" He asked rhetorically, trailing a finger along the edge of the envelope. "I wonder…?"

"Chris-" Harley began, hands fisted as she glared at him, before she was cut off by Jessica's voice.

"Mike and Em split. We're together." She told them, pursing her lips defensively.

"Woah, drama." Chris raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Not really. Pretty clear cut, actually. Em's out, I'm in." Jess told them, flicking her braids over her shoulders as she spoke, before walking up to Chris and snatching her letter back from him, pointedly ignoring the look he shot her.

"Alright, alright. Let's just get up to the lodge already. Getting tired of all this nature and junk." Chris rolled his eyes, turning towards the path.

"Man after my own heart." Harley deadpanned.

"Uh, you guys go on ahead. I'm just gonna wait here for a bit, see who else is coming." She told them, walking towards the station with a slightly nervous gait.

"You mean Mi-ow! Shit! Chris began, before being cut off by a small hand reaching up, twisting his ear viciously, and yanking him towards the path.

"Bye, Jessica." Harley called over her shoulder, hauling the much taller boy along as she did so.

"Bye!" the blonde returned, eyes wide in alarm as a smile tugged at her lips.

"You're a lot stronger than you look." Chris informed her.

"All those books I lug around with me." She replied. "Shelving in the library helps, too."

"Uh-huh," he said, wincing as she finally released him once she judged they were a safe distance. "Sam?" he called, looking desperately at the blonde girl who was following them a few steps behind.

"Do you see this view?" she smiled. "Sometimes I forget to just, stop, and take it all in."

Harley and Chris joined her, looking out towards the mountain.

"Yeah…" Harley murmured, before turning back towards the path, never seeing the look her two friends exchanged behind her.

0o0o0

"Seriously," Emily sighed in disgust. "Couldn't they have just built the lodge, like, right where the cable car ends?"

"I don't think it would have been, like, as pretty, y'know?" Matt, her boyfriend, replied, closing the gate behind them both and picking up the two bags.

"And where's the bellboy when you need one?!" Emily called over her shoulder, smirking at him before marching off. Matt sighed through his nose, forcing himself to not get irritated with her. Harley never made him carry her bags, he thought for a moment, even though he always would offer, and if they went shopping they'd split the load. As soon as the thought occurred to him, he dismissed it. He wouldn't think about his ex-girlfriend, now his good friend, like that – and he certainly wouldn't compare his current girlfriend to her, no matter how different they were.

"Brrr." Emily shivered. "Getting chills…"

"We're almost there-" Matt began, before being, predictably, cut off.

"No, I mean… getting kinda creeped out." She explained in a rare show of vulnerability.

"Oh. Yeah." Matt said understandingly, memories of what happened last year, of when Hannah and Beth and Harley – god, poor Harley – went missing filling his head.

"Gonna be weird seeing everyone up here again." Emily continued.

"Definitely not gonna feel like a regular party. I mean, what do you think-" he was cut off as a figure suddenly jumped from the bush and roared at them, before bursting into laughter when they screamed in shock.

"Woah! Dude!" Matt cried, raising his arms defensively.

"Jesus!" Emily screamed, backing up."

"You guys…!" He laughed, obviously unable to continue.

"Michael!" Emily shouted in anger.

"You really, really should've seen your faces right there." Mike laughed harder.

"Dude, I almost clocked you just now." Mike told him, lowering his arms and exhaling heavily, thoughts of an argument, a girl missing, blaming each other being dismissed as quickly as they came.

"Michael, you're a jerk." Emily told him, sneering.

"Come on guys, we're all friends here, right? No need for violence, just a little harmless fun. We're up in the woods, it's spooky, come on, let's get into the spirit of things!"

"The spirit of things?" Emily demanded, incredulous. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood, Em. Don't be like that."

"Like what?" she demanded.

"The way you're being," Mike told her, obviously sick and tired of whatever it was. "You always get like this."

"Michael," Matt started, feeling a little awkward. "I'm just gonna lay it out, otherwise this whole weekend's gonna suck ass for everyone. Um, this is super awkward, and we all know it. Let's just, uh, acknowledge it now and move on. Okay?" he nodded, eyes searching Mike's face for his response.

"I hear you, man. I get it; I don't wanna make this weird." Mike told him, hands stretched to the side in an open gesture, simultaneously widening his stance as though preparing for a confrontation.

"Cool. So, we're good?" Matt asked, seeking confirmation.

"All good." Mike replied. The two of them had gotten along well when Matt had dated Harley, but Mike had always blamed Matt for Harley breaking them up, and things had gone from bad to worse the night Harley disappeared into a snow storm.

"You guys gonna make out, now?" Emily teased, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh my god, totally, we're so gonna make out!" Mike replied, voice high and feminine as he made a 'come hither' gesture, winking at Matt who rolled his eyes. "Uh… no, seriously. I'm gonna go check on the cable car back down the trial. I heard Harley was coming up with Sam around now." He pointed past them as he started walking.

"See ya, man." Matt bid him.

"See ya."

"Alright…" Matt sighed, feeling awkward once again.

"See ya!" Mike replied, throwing his arms up as he disappeared around the corner. Matt sighed in relief as he did so, reaching down to pick up the bags once again.

"Ah, crap!" Emily hissed, and he turned to face her, concerned.

"What?" he asked.

"Hey, could you take these the rest of the way?" She asked, like he hadn't already been doing that.

"The bags?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, just… all the bags." She told him, looking behind them and back towards the cable car station more than once as she did so.

"Uh, why?" he asked, slightly disbelieving.

"I need to go find Sam." She told him.

"Okay…?" he furrowed his brow, not sure if he believed her or not.

"Sorry, I just—I really need to go find her. I totally forgot I needed to talk to her before we get all the way up there." She explained, looking back a little nervously.

"This really can't wait? We're almost there." He said, gesturing towards the cabin which was within eyeshot.

"It's important. Matt, please." She plead, and he sighed out of the side of his mouth – she nearly never said please.

"Alright, fine." He sighed. "If it's so important, I guess I can pack horse it the rest of the way there, but," he cut her off as she went to speak, gaze serious enough to silence her. "You owe me one."

"Excuse me?" she laughed, as though the very idea was a complete joke.

"Well, then we're even, at least." He negotiated.

"I'll think about it." She smirked, a teasing lilt to her voice that made him roll his eyes but smile back a little.

"Just be careful." He told her.

"See you up there, sweetie." She replied, Matt forcing himself not to roll his eyes at the pet name. "Thank you." She blew him a kiss as she left, and Matt sighed once more as he began walking towards the cabin.

0o0o0

"Oh…" Ashley breathed, pulling back from the telescope to let her mind catch up with what she just saw. Firming her resolve, she looked back through. "Hello…" she muttered. "Somebody's getting a little 'friendly', and not in the 'friend zone' kind of way… they might need to check the expiration date on their big breakup." She zoomed out, unable to tear her eyes away from Mike and Emily, who were now hugging, when all of a sudden Matt's face appeared and she threw herself backwards, auburn hair flying as she squealed in shock.

"Hey, woah… sorry there, Ash. Didn't mean to scare you…"

"Jeex louise, Matt!" she swiped at him, slapping his arm softly as he continued.

"Well, I guess I did mean to scare you—sort of scare you, but not, like, for real, scare you…"

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" she muttered in irritation, shoving him weakly.

"Hey, wow," he chuckled a little, looking sheepish and apologetic. "Man, I'm really sorry Ash… damn."

"It's okay, it's fine… it's fine…" she muttered, waving him away.

"What were you looking at? See anything juicy with that thing?" he joked, gesturing towards the telescope as she floundered for a response. "Lemme check it out." He grinned, seemingly only encouraged by her helpless protests.

"Um…" she sighed helplessly, looking from Matt to the telescope. "Sure, um… go ahead… knock yourself out, I guess…" she stepped away from it, biting her lip when she saw Matt look through and immediately see what she saw.

"Son of a bitch!" he swore. "Seriously, Emily? What the hell, man?" he asked no one as they parted from their lingering hug.

"Hey, listen, it's probably nothing…" Ashley consoled helplessly, unsure as to what to say.

"Is it ever just nothing with Em?" he asked rhetorically. They both knew the answer. "Goddamnit."

"Matt…" she called fruitlessly as he stormed away.

0o0o0

Jessica fidgeted, looking around before reaching down to pick up the phone, jumping in shock when a clump of snow struck the wall next to her. "Oh, you did not just do that!" she exclaimed, standing to face her boyfriend, who stood on the other side of the railing.

"Put your hands where I can see 'em, we've got ya surrounded." Mike called in a laughable western accent as he bent down and collected another snowball.

"But who am I to retaliate?" she replied, putting on her best 'southern belle' accent and raising her hands into the air. "What choice do I, a supple young rebel girl, have but to surrender to the strapping military guard come to take me into custody?" she saw him drop his guard, reaching down to collect more snow, and made her move, darting forwards to grab a handful of snow and hiding it behind her back as she approached him.

"I-I dunno," Mike stammered, clearly surprised by her compliance. "When you put it like that-" he cut himself off as she sprinted to the left, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey!" he cried in mock outrage, Jessica laughing as she spun and threw a snowball, hitting him on the shoulder. "Oh! Great…" he laughed, realizing what he was up against.

Jessica darted behind the picnic bench, packing another snowball as she heard Mike inform her that 'she was gonna pay', which only served to make her laugh harder.

"Where are you hiding, little chick-a-dee?" Mike called, emerging from behind a tree as Jess one again ran towards the left, throwing another snowball and crowing in delight when it struck him square on the forehead. He pulled his arm back, releasing his own snowball, but she ducked just in time, reaching the tree stump and forming another snowball to throw at him when he ran for cover.

"Hey, Mike!" she called. "Boom-shakka-lakka!"

"Okay, you got me, fair enough." He told her, laughing as he took cover and waited for her to get impatient.

"You can't hide from me, Michael. I know all your tricks!" she told him, watching the tree he was behind like a hawk and only sparing a glance towards the bird that landed near him, watching it take off. Mike knelt to stand up, and as he did so Jess threw her snowball, hitting him enough that he cried out in alarm and fell backwards, making her laugh even harder.

"I'm gonna find you, Jess." He teased, faux anger lining his voice.

"And then what?" she called, anticipation lining her tone. She ran behind a tree, keeping an eye on her boyfriend. "No more!" she called.

"Oh, yeah, 'more'. You're going down!" he told her, the competitive streak she found so attractive making an appearance. She laughed at his words, looking around and was, therefore, caught completely by surprise when he tackled her gently from behind, pinning her to the ground. "Gotcha! It's done!" he crowed, and she laughed when he pulled back, looking towards the cable car station.

"You just missed her." She told him, smirking and raising an eyebrow when he had the nerve to look surprised. "I told you, Michael – I know all your tricks. I also know your 'where is my baby sister' face."

"You caught me." He told her, grinning sheepishly.

"Come on," she cajoled, raising a hand in the air. "Help me up." He complied with a smile, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips when she stood to meet him. "Let's go." She mock-sighed, gesturing towards the cabin.

"How was she?" Mike asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" Jess turned to him, brow furrowing.

"I mean… did she seem upset, or…" Jess smiled when she understood what he was asking.

"She was fine. She was with Sam and Chris, and they were all joking around. Hauled Chris off by his ear at the end of it." She told him with a laugh.

"Yeah, she's pretty good at that." Mike grimaced, rubbing his own ear in sympathy.

"What, seriously?" Jess raised her eyebrow as she smirked at her boyfriend.

"Yeah… that one was courtesy of our mother, I'm afraid. She practiced on me." He mock-pouted, and Jess pinched his cheek with a coo.

"Poor baby." She laughed when he snapped at her fingers teasingly. "Come on, let's get to the cabin so you can breathe again, big brother." She told him, taking his hand to lead him up the path.

They didn't hear the cable car.


	3. Chapter 3: Jealousy

"Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it." Chris bemoaned.

"Oh, yeah?" Josh grinned. "Feels the same to me."

"Come on, you grew up here. It probably feels like it's shrinking." Chris shook his hand dismissively.

"I guess that's true." Josh acknowledged, sounding more amused by the minute.

"When are you gonna install some cell towers up here? I'm getting withdrawals already." Chris complained, holding his phone aloft and finding nothing.

"Hey, you got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up." Josh assured him with a smirk.

"Funny you should say that… ah, I think I left it in my other jacket." Chris pulled at his pockets sadly, and Harley rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"How you doing, beautiful?" Josh smiled warmly, hugging her with one arm and dropping a gentle kiss to her hair, jerking his head upwards in acknowledgement to Sam before letting his chin drop on the strawberry blonde head. Her heart fluttered, but she scowled inwardly at herself – she knew he was just kidding around. God, why did she always react like this?

"Cold." She grumbled, dismissing her internal musings, and he laughed.

"Well, let's see what we can do about that, hmm?" he gestured for them to follow, and Chris took his side as the group made their way towards the lodge. "Hey, guys. Get up here okay?"

"Yeah, uh…" Ashley replied, too bright at first and then trailing off. "More or less. But it's so good to see you!" she told them gently, sound relieved – too much so; Harley narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"'Sup with him?" Josh murmured, nodding towards Matt who was glaring at nothing and crossing his arms furiously. Rather than reply, she just shook her head lightly while Matt sighed and stomped off down the path from the lodge. Josh and Chris exchanged a wide-eyed glance but continued up the stairs to the door while Sam approached Ashley. Harley chose to stand back a bit, staring at Matt consideringly.

"Yo, yo, yo! Are we gonna get things moving up here or what?" Chris grinned, stopping just in front of Josh.

"Yeah, man!" Josh replied, spreading his feet a little of the top step.

"Hey…" Chris started hesitantly, peeking around before resolving to continue. "You doin' alright?" he asked softly. "I mean, I know it must be really tough without your sis-"

"Stop." Josh said seriously.

"I just mean tha-"

"No, I know what you meant." Josh said, frowning at the floor before facing his friend once more. "You know, seriously, I'm over it, and I just want us to have a good time, you know? Like we always used to."

Josh turned away from Chris, who's compliant nodding turned into something a little more frustrated and concerned once his back was turned.

"Dammit…" Josh swore. "This freaking thing…"

"It's iced?" Chris guessed.

"What else." Josh confirmed, exhaling loudly through his nose.

"Maybe there's another way in."

"There are a million ways in, they're just all locked." Josh told him.

"There's gotta be, like, a window around the corner we can get, like, 'get open' or something." He hedged, nudging Josh with his elbow.

"Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?" Josh asked incredulously.

"I don't think it's technically breaking in if you own the place, right?" Chris laughed uneasily.

"Hey. Not if I don't report you." Josh smirked, turning back to him.

"Um…" Chris gulped.

"Lead the way, Cochise." Josh gestured grandly, and Chris pulled his upper lip back nervously as he turned back down the stairs, passing Ashley.

"Hey Ash…" he greeted nervously.

"Hi, Chris." She waved one hand at him, wiggling the fingers on it delicately and he swallowed nervously.

"So… how're you doing?" he asked, hoping she didn't hear the slight tremor in his voice.

"Mm… good! But… a little cold…" she admitted, shivering demonstratively on the step. "I think I could use some time curled up by the fire." She added with a wry smile.

"Yeah, that does sound pretty nice." He smiled, before stepping back and joining Josh to go around the house.

0o0o0o0o0

"Matt…" Harley said softly, walking up to him and laying a gentle hand on his bicep. "What is it?"

"Just… you think you know a person." He muttered bitterly, laying a soft hand over hers for a moment and squeezing lightly before letting go and stepping away.

Harley sighed softly – it was plain to see that Matt wanted some time alone and she was never any good at comforting people anyway. She grimaced softly as her stomach rumbled – even though she had eaten lunch with Sam earlier that day, she was starving.

As Josh and Chris walked away, she heard Josh exclaiming to Chris how 'hot' Ashley was looking and felt her heart break a little. She stared at the auburn-haired girl consideringly. Ash was taller than she was, to be sure, and skinnier. Harley's legs were fairly short, and she was plump around her stomach and thighs in a way none of the other girls were. She could understand why Josh wouldn't want her.

She sighed, looking around and wondering where Mike was. Her brother had left before her to come here – in fact he was one of the first supposed to arrive. She supposed he might be with Jessica at the cable car station, and was surprised and vexed by the stab of loneliness in her gut. Matt was brooding, Sam was talking to Ashley and Chris and Josh had gone off to find a way in to the house… what could she do?

After a moment's hesitation, she decided to take a seat next to the girls. If nothing else, she could at least listen to them talk.

After a few moments of this, a groan sounded from behind the door and she sighed in disgust.

"Chris!" Sam chastised.

"Aw, how'd you know it was me?" he asked, sounding utterly heartbroken.

"Chris. The door?" Harley demanded, running out of patience.

"On it!" he saluted them before disappearing back into the darkness of the lodge.

"We're gonna be out here all night, aren't we?" Harley asked the other girls wryly, and they giggled as they stood around and waited.

"We're freezing our buns off out here!" Ashley complained several minutes later.

"Can't have that, can we?" Josh appeared behind them, startling all three. "Sorry, sorry!" he laughed, raising his hands in surrender as Sam thumped him on the arm. "Here, as an apology I'll keep you warm." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he opened his arms, fingers wiggling on either end. Harley sighed in disgust once again that evening, smacking him right on the solar plexus and sending the air rushing out of his lungs.

"He's back!" Sam told them happily, indicating where the glow of Chris' lighter was approaching the door.

"Finally." Harley sighed happily. The light flared up for a moment as Chris defrosted the door handle, and then he gingerly pinched it and threw the door open, gasping in pain."You could have just grabbed it through your sleeve." Harley told him.

"Sh-shut up…" he mumbled, shaking his hand off. He took a step back to let them in and immediately shrieked in alarm as something sped past him.

Harley squeaked in shock, throwing herself backwards and into Josh as the creature flew past her. It took her a moment to realise that Josh's arms were wound tightly around her, and that he had even turned them slightly away so he was between her and the perceived threat. Her heart fluttered in her throat, and she didn't return to planet Earth until Josh cleared his throat awkwardly and let her go, joining Sam in teasing Chris over his rather feminine shriek. "Don't worry, buddy, you're gonna be a big boy soon." He told him, stepping into the lodge after Sam and Ashley and not turning to watch Harley and Matt file in behind them.

"Home sweet home!" Josh said, voice echoing in the cavernous space of the living room.

"Sweet is not the word I'd use." Matt muttered, looking around as his breath misted the air in front of him.

"It's so good to be inside, though. Even if it's still kinda freezing in here." Ashley conceded.

"I'll get a fire going." Josh said with a wink, walking towards the fireplace purposefully.

"This place barely looks any different." Matt noted, and Harley hummed her agreement as she peered around herself silently, holding her arms to herself to ward off the chill.

"Nobody's been up here." Josh told them with a shrug.

"Even with all the police coming in and out?" Ashley asked thoughtlessly, and Harley winced.

"Not a lot of action up here lately." Chris said.

"Nope." Josh agreed.

"What's up party people!" Mike greeted loudly, arms raised in the air as he descended the few steps into the living room with Jess close on his heels. "Harley!" he called happily, jogging the last few steps over to her and throwing his arms around her in a bear hug. He squeezed her tightly, lifting her off her own feet and rocking her from side to side cheekily.

"Mike." She said, unamused even as the others chuckled as Mike's typical display of brotherly affection.

"My baby sister." He cooed playfully, rubbing his cheek – stubble and all – all over her hair and undoubtedly messing up her near-perfect braid.

"Mike!" she whined, writhing in his grip until he dropped her with a groan when her foot connected with his calf. "Tch." She sneered, stalking away from him with a playful air and her nose held comically high.

"Make yourself at home." Josh told him with a chuckle, looking between the siblings as Mike blew kisses at his little sister's back. She was walking slowly away, feet crossing each other with her nose practically parallel to the ground and a smirk pulling at her lips and he found himself smiling at her fondly. She was absolutely adorable…

0o0o0o0o0 _Harley's POV – 1_ _st_ _Person_

"Will do!" Mike grinned, crouching over and shooting Josh a thumbs up before turned to join Jessica on one of the sofas.

"Yeah." Matt said, his tone so bitter and unfriendly that it drew everyone's attention instantly, my eyes deer-wide and her body still as I watched him stand to his full height and sneer at my brother. "Come on in, take a load off. Have whatever you want. You'll just take whatever you want anyways, right?" Matt finished, barely a foot from Mike now and clearly gearing for a confrontation.

"Woah," Mike pulled his lips down in surprise and confusion. "Easy there, cowboy." I grimaced in despair – I knew Matt well enough to know that joking like that was _not_ the way to calm him down.

"Mike, stay away from my girlfriend." Matt said, tone softer now but no less determined.

"Dude – what are you talking about?" Mike asked incredulously, and I could see his eyes flicker first to me and then to Jess, who was sitting up a little straighter on the couch.

"Stay away from Emily." Matt told him harshly.

"Emily? Why would I want anything to do with Emily?" Mike demanded.

"Right… right." Matt said, sounding completely unconvinced.

"Something going on with you, man?" Mike asked, looking more indignant than concerned.

"Forget it. I lost my head. Been a long day." Matt stepped back from Mike with a somewhat dark look.

"Yeah, well… try not to lose it again." Mike told him. Matt walked away completely and sat back down on his chair, and Mike walked over to seat beside Jess who immediately cuddled into his side after shooting me a reassuring and confident – I rolled my eyes – smile.

"Oh… my god. That is so gross." Emily sneered, entering our view and walking down the stairs with her dismissive eyes set straight on my brother and his girlfriend. "Are you trying to swallow his face whole?"

I pulled a face at her – my brother and Jess hadn't even been kissing, for god's sake.

"Em…" Matt started, obviously trying to diffuse the brewing argument.

"I mean; could she be any more obvious? No one wants in on your territory, honey." Emily crossed her arms with a superior glare.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Jess snarked, hand raised to her ear demonstratively as she stood from the sofa and Mike watched with a simultaneously helpless and interested expression – _men._

"Oh, did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?" Emily retorted, not missing a beat.

"Here we go…" I heard Sam mutter to Ashley, who nodded her agreement with wide eyes. Being Mike's sister, I was no stranger to bitch fights, but I knew that Ashley was definitely not as well accustomed as I was.

"Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut." Jess told us.

"Yeah, it's all a big cattle call with that dreamboat. Congrats, you're top cow!" Emily cheered acerbically. Beside her, Matt was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, and I smiled inwardly in commiseration.

"Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecoming a cow." Jess countered.

"Em, come on-" Matt tried.

"Shut up, Matt-" Emily replied, only cut off when Jessica added her two cents.

"Stay out of it, you dumb oaf!" Jessica snapped.

"Hey, watch it-" Emily intervened, stepping even closer to Jessica.

"Oh, you're the only one who can put him down?" Jessica exclaimed in mock surprise. "No one else can play with your toys?"

"You're such a bitch!" Emily shouted, losing her temper completely.

"Whatever," Jessica dismissed, shaking off the hurt that comment raised with a victorious sneer. "I don't care what you think."

"At least I can think. 4.0, bitch, honor roll. Suck on that when you're trying to sleep your way into a job." Emily returned triumphantly.

"Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages you can handle?" Jessica gestured to herself demonstratively, standing nearer to Mike who had leant forwards and braced his elbows on his thighs to watch in interest. I glared at him, disgusted. Useless idiot.

"Oh, please." Emily rolled her eyes.

"You couldn't buy a moldy load of bread with your skanky ass." Jessica snarled, and I winced consideringly – not her best, but whatever.

"Are you serious? Do you think that's insulting?" Emily laughed, and I nearly smiled along with her before composing myself.

"That bitch is on crack or something." Jessica told Mike, turning back to him and seeming to dismiss Emily completely. At first, this seemed to be the end of the argument, but of course it wasn't.

"Emily! Stop!" Matt plead, the only person who was actually trying to diffuse the situation. "This is out of hand. There's no reason to fight like this!" he reasoned, and I smiled at him approvingly when he caught my eye. He smiled back, clearly relieved that someone agreed with him, and went to say something else when Jessica cut in.

"Yeah, Em! Why you pickin' fights over your e-x-boyfriend, huh?" Okay, point, but still. I shook my head, stepping forwards.

"Seriously, guys," I intervened. "Can't we all just step away and move on?"

"Oh piss off, fugly." Emily snapped, and I blinked in shock, jerking physically backwards as though I had just been struck.

"Hey!" Mike barked, standing off the couch almost violently as he advanced on his ex-girlfriend.

"Fuck you, you-" Jessica started, stepping between Emily and I with her 'tude dialed up to ten; one hand on her hip and the other raised in the air dangerously.

"Stop it!" Josh shouted, and we all stopped in our tracks and stared at him with wide eyes – though my vision was somewhat blurry given the tears that I desperately tried to blink back. "This is not why we came up here. This is not… helping. This is not what I wanted." He said sadly. "If we can't get along for ten minutes then maybe we need a little bit of a break, right?" he looked around before turning to Matt. "Matt, why don't you and Emily go check out the guest cabin. The one I told you guys about." He suggested, though it was clear that it was probably a better idea to comply then argue more right now.

"Yeah," Matt agreed before Emily could say anything, though she had opened her mouth to do so. She snapped it shut again, glaring at him incredulously before rolling her eyes in disgust and marching over to her bags.

"It's right up the trail." Josh told him, reaching on top of the fireplace and chucking Matt the keys he took from there. "Can't really miss it." He said with a half-smile.

"Thanks, bro." Matt told him.

Josh opened his mouth to respond – probably with some inappropriate remark, knowing him, but Emily cut him off. "Matt. Where's my bag?" she demanded, spinning and pinning him with a glare.

"What?" he asked. "Right there." He gestured towards where he had put the luggage just after he'd walked in.

"No, the little one with the pink pattern! The one I got on Rodeo!" she told him, exasperated. "Are you listening? Next to the Italian shoe place where I got the stilettos and you knocked over the rack while you were drooling all over that girl at the counter? Don't you remember?"

"Well… she was asking about my letter jacket." Matt defended half-heartedly.

"Right. Because she gave a shit about your 'designer' letter jacket." Emily's expression clearly called bullshit.

"Why do you hate my jacket?" Matt asked, sounding deeply confused.

"Matt, I need my bag!" Emily snapped.

"Oh my god, maybe you just forgot it-"

"Do you seriously think I'd forget my bag?" Emily demanded.

"Guess not." Matt replied venomously.

"You must have left it down by the cable car station." Emily told him.

"Ugh." He groaned.

"C'mon, hun. We'll get it and then we'll head up to the cabin. Trust me, it'll be worth it." She said with a flirtatious smirk, and Matt stared at her consideringly.

"And then we can get warm?" he asked.

"We can get very warm." Emily said suggestively, leading the two of them out of the cabin and – thankfully – away from me.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that, sweetheart." Mike cooed the minute Emily and Matt were out of sight, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest.

"Don't listen to her for a second." Jessica told me. "Bitch was way out of line." She rubbed my back soothingly, and I took a moment to relish in the comfort they offered before pulling back with a shaky but reassuring smile.

"Please," I laughed weakly. "Like I'd take anything she says to heart. Her GPA in only 3.96." I told them conspiratorially, and Jessica giggled in delight while Mike slung his arm across my shoulders.

"That's my girl." He praised, and I grinned up at him.

"Hey Mike," Jess said, turning to him and cueing my leave from the conversation.

"Yeah?"

"What say you give me a hand getting our stuff up to one of the guest rooms, hmm?" Jess offered, but I knew from Mike's response that she was _not_ talking about just moving bags. Ew.

"Sounds great-" he cut himself off, staring at me uncertainly but I only rolled my eyes and walked away from them and I heard him agree eagerly. Ew, ew, ew.

"I don't know about you guys, but there is a hot bath calling my name." Sam told us, waving as she wandered up the stairs.

"Hey Josh?" I asked, wringing my hands from over his shoulder as he fiddled with the fireplace. He hummed in acknowledgement, so I continued. "Can I help at all?"

He turned to look at me for a moment before smiling warmly and nodding. "Sure can! Can you get me some newspapers from the office?" he gestured towards the door, and I nodded, happy to have something to do and I spun on my heel and walked off to do as he asked.

The newspapers themselves were easy to find, laid out on one of the desks as they were, so I took an armful and made to turn around before I stopped, gazing wistfully at a picture of the wall of Hannah, Beth, Josh and myself – that summer the Washingtons had invited me to go with them to Australia, and I had spent an entire week snorkeling in the ocean before returning home red as a lobster – I had naturally fair skin, and my mother used to joke that all I'd need to do is walk past a mirror to burn. I stroked my fingers down the faces of my two best friends sadly – "I miss you." I told them gently, before turning and leaving the study.

"Sammy!" Josh called just as I entered the living room.

"What?" she replied.

"You wanna help me get this fire going?" he invited, and a small part of me wondered if he would ever have considered inviting me to help him if I hadn't asked.

"Um… well… I was just getting into the bath." Sam called back awkwardly.

"Oh!" Josh exclaimed, sounding all too interested. My heart panged in my chest painfully and I stopped where I was, in the shadows along the outskirts of the room. "Well, do you need any help with that?" he asked with a smirk on his face, and I could feel all traces of happiness leave my face as I gazed hurtfully at the ground – there was no good reason to feel this way. The secret of my crush had died with Hannah and Beth, and I knew that Josh wouldn't go for someone like me – especially now that he was in college.

"Hardy har." Sam retorted, and Josh chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. Taking the opportunity to paste a smile of my face, I walked up to him with the newspaper in my arms.

"Here you go." I told him happily.

"Nice one." He held his hand up for a high five, and I stared at him dubiously but returned it with an amused eye-roll. "Won't be long now." He promised.

"Heard that one before." I teased, leaning my hip against his shoulder lightly as he wrapped an arm around my legs to brace me and pressed the side of his head into my stomach.

"Don't be mean." He pouted, and I snickered in amusement. "Alright, peanut gallery, I got an idea for you two." He said, standing and looking between Chris and Ashley with a cheeky smirk.

"What?" Ashley asked, clearly intrigued.

"Okay, well I am pretty sure that somewhere in this crazy place we used to have… a spirit board." Josh told them, and I groaned in disgust.

"A what?" Ashley raised an eyebrow, tilting her head in confusion.

"Wow, you have a spirit board?" Chris quoted, eyes wide and mock-impressed. "Those things are a joke, man. They don't do shit." He gestured dismissively, and I nodded in fervent agreement.

"No way, bro. We used to do it all the time. Me and-" Josh said, cutting off at the last minute. "Well…"

"Josh." Sam called, thankfully interrupting the conversation before it went any further. "No hot water's kinda a major oversight, don't you think?"

"Yeah, yeah," Josh laughed, looking grateful for the interruption. "You just gotta fire up the boiler. It's in the basement. Alright," he started, turning to Chris and Ashley. "You guys see if you can find the spirit board." He told them.

"Chris, let's go find it!" Ashley walked off happily, gesturing for him to follow. "It'll be, like, a scavenger hunt." It was clearly her enthusiasm that did Chris in, because he sighed in defeat but stood and followed his crush as she left the room.

"You two up for a ride-along?" Josh asked, looking between me and Sam as he started towards the basement. Sam smiled in agreement, following him, but I placed a hand on my stomach and shook my head sheepishly.

"If I don't eat something soon, I may die." I told him, heading into the kitchen. "Be careful, Sam!" I told her with a cheeky grin and sideways glance to Josh, who placed a hand on his chest in mock-outrage.

I turned back in the door to watch them head down the stairs, before turning and walking into the kitchen. In the past year my appetite had increased seemingly exponentially, but I hadn't put on weight (yet) so I wasn't too worried.

I dug through the cupboards, finding some marshmallows and chocolate and smirking to myself as I began boiling some water on the stove to make myself some hot chocolate. While that was happening, I dug through the fridge and found some cold pizza which I chucked in the microwave before sitting down and efficiently peeling myself a mandarin.

"Hey," Ashley said sometime later, poking her head into the kitchen. "Chris is gonna prank Sam and Josh, so don't worry if you hear screaming or anything." Eyes wide, I saluted her with my pizza slice and she laughed softly as she closed the door once more. Sure enough, I heard screaming and the door to the basement shaking in its frame. Pouring two glasses of hot chocolate, I sprinkled some marshmallows and picked up the mug by its handle.

"I'm ready to admit that your dumb little prank may have had a slight whiff of humour to it." Sam was saying as I reentered the living room.

"Jokemaster!" Chris cheered.

"I said nothing about jokes!" Sam denied crossly. "I said your prank, which was dumb-"

"Holy crap, you were scared. Admit it." Josh teased, their voices filtering up to me where I was standing by the staircase.

"I was not!" Sam said angrily.

"Come on, you totally pissed yourself!" Josh told her happily.

"Josh!" she snarled. As she came off the staircase, I held out the mug of hot chocolate to her with a commiserating smile. She grinned broadly, accepting it with a bow of thanks as Josh whimpered heartbrokenly, staring between her mug and my now empty hands.

"H-Harl…" he muttered softly, poking me weakly on the arm.

"No." I replied.

"B-but…"

"No!" I retorted, walking back to the kitchen and only turning around to stick my tongue out at him mockingly as I closed the door in his face.

I leant against the now closed door, laughing softly before sitting back in front of my pizza and hot chocolate, picking up a slice and looking between it and my cup consideringly.

No, probably not a good idea to mix cheese and chocolate.


	4. Chapter 4: Isolation

"…you guys are full of it!"

Josh slammed the door to the kitchen, and I startled, spinning to face him in concern and alarm. "Josh?" I began to hurry around the counter. "What ha-" he raised one hand, silencing me and I stood uncertainly.

"Can you… pour me a glass of water?" he asked softly, and I nodded immediately, spinning and taking a glass from the overhead cupboard before going to the sink. I stood before the tap, cup poised, when I felt Josh loom behind me. One of his hands caught the one I had raised to turn on the tap, while the other gently pried the glass from my fingers and placed it in the sink. He ran his hands down my arms and wound them across my shoulders and chest, pulling me into him and curling himself forward so his forehead rested on my shoulder.

I shifted slightly, sure that it must be hurting his back to bend over like that, but unwilling to move. He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Were you scared?" he asked quietly.

"What?" I was just a quiet, unwilling to break or disturb the strange tension pooling around us.

"That night. Were you scared?" he didn't need to clarify any further, I understood.

"Yes. I was terrified." I replied honestly. "When I woke up there… I had no idea where I was. The last thing I could remember was leaving the lodge with Beth. I've never been so scared in my life."

"I don't want you to be scared. I never want you to be scared." He told me.

"I'm not scared." I assured him, raising my arms to hold his gently.

"Don't be scared. I won't let you get hurt, or scared." He was beginning to sound strange, disjointed, his tone darkening and I could feel my pulse speed up with apprehension.

"Josh, what ar-"

My words were cut off by the strange-scented cloth he suddenly pressed over my mouth and nose. I exclaimed in shock, the noise muffled completely by the cloth and his large – oh god why was it so large I used to love that it was and now – hand and I desperately tried to hold my breath, not to breath in what I was sure was chloroform but I couldn't, I couldn't, I was so _scared_ and he said he didn't want me to be scared and I was scared now.

Tears were streaming down my face as I slowly slumped in his arms. His face was pressed against the side of my head, and I could just make out him murmuring sweet nothings in my ear – "never scared, never hurt, gonna look after you, never hurt you, not gonna let them hurt you, it'll be okay, just sleep and it'll all be over…"

The world in front of me blurred out of focus, and I slumped miserably in his arms – frightened and hurt and so, _so_ confused.

 _Harley, Washington Lodge, 3:34am_

The first thing I noticed was how heavy my head felt. The next thing I noticed was that I was lying on the bed in Hannah's room.

I gasped, jerking upwards and whimpering in pain and disorientation as the blood rushed through my skull and peered around. I got up off the bed gingerly, looking around as nostalgia and grief flooded through me. I had always been jealous of Hannah's room, here. It was just so… so… much better than mine, really. I shook my head, clearing the thought away and gently approaching the beautiful music box on the desk.

 _Freres Jacques, Frere Jacques…_

I could remember the twins singing this. It played softly through the music box and I fingere the inscription, gasping and stumbling back as the events prior to my passing out came back to me. Josh – he had… drugged me, or something. Why, though? Why would he do that?

I turned purposefully, marching out of the room and into the main foyer. There were a bunch of balloons around, with arrows painted on them. I followed them carefully, noting how quiet the lodge was and instantly suspecting a prank of some sort – I wouldn't put it past the combined idiocy of Josh and Chris, and even my own brother.

I moved down the stairs, peering around into the darkness before entering the cinema room. The first thing I noticed was the smashed vase on the ground, the next was the open door to the right of the room. I tensed in concern and anxiety, inhaling deeply through my nose and moving through the doorway.

I entered one of the guest rooms, but noticed the way the comforter had been pushed off it to the side near the door and instantly connected the dots, moving around the foot of the bed and down a long passageway, bypassing multiple doors until I found one I could have sworn was shut earlier that evening.

It led me down into the basement, and I nearly tripped over a baseball bat lying in the middle of the room next to the boiler. I gasped, catching myself on a shelf and breathing shakily, barely catching a sob in my throat, before moving through the room, past what looked like a laundry – in which an entire shelf of wine bottles had been pushed to the floor and then through a door that was half broken through – and into a dark, dilapidated room.

There was broken wood and cracked concrete all through the room, and I quickly crossed it – keeping an eye out for any bugs or spiders as I did so – and went through the doorway opposite to the one I entered through. I went down a small set of stairs, noting with concern the tiny scrape of blood on one of the concrete corners, and stared in dismay at the long tunnel before me. I moved down it, stopping to peer into the elevator shaft with curiosity. At the bottom, in the dirt that was inexplicably there, I saw footprints leading off the side and into a vent on the left. I considered for a moment before placing my own foot next to one of these footprints and confirmed my suspicions – these footprints were Sam's. No doubt about it.

I followed the small vent until I found the end, knowing that Sam must have gone through here the minute I noticed the vent cover had been removed from the inside, having fallen like that.

I peered through the room, jumping and nearly screaming as soon as I laid eyes on the manikin to my immediate right – in the dark, it had almost looked like a person. There was a desk with a light on, and I frowned in confusion – what the heck had gone on down here?

To the left was a floorplan, with a strange red smudge on the bottom right corner. With a grimace, I held it gingerly between two fingers and saw what looked like plans for some sort of rack. It depicted a body suspended against a wooden board, while someone stood behind it and placed their neck through a hole. What sort of purpose could something like this serve?

I turned around, walking up to the desk with the lamp and carefully opening the drawer just behind it on a hunch. I winced when it squeaked loudly, glancing around warily before returning my gaze to the contents; I found a brown folder, which I laid on the desk in front of me and opened.

 _Joshua Washington, Final Psychiatric Report_

I tried to ignore the bright red 'confidential' stamped on the same page, telling myself it was for a good cause, and flipped it quickly. I had been aware that Josh had been seeing a psychiatrist after the incident last year, but I hadn't known what exactly had gone on with it. He didn't seem to want to talk about it, and I'm never one to pry, anyhow.

The next page was titled _Physician History,_ and I gasped in shock when I realized the first entry was dated 2006 – what the hell? I couldn't imagine Josh of all people ever needing to go to a psychiatrist. Now burning with curiosity, I flipped the next few pages and found one detailing his prescription to antidepressants – once again, starting 2006. I felt my eyes water at the thought that Josh would have had to deal with something like this, a pang of hurt making itself known in my chest. I could understand why he wouldn't tell me, but it still hurt. I had thought… we were closer than that.

The summary of treatment was equally concerning – though it seemed to refer to after the incident which I was relieved to see. When I saw the words 'major depressive disorder' I lost the battle against a few of my tears, watching them splash onto the page as I moved it to the other side of the folder. The last page I could barely make out, vision blurred as it was, so I sighed shakily and closed the folder once more, returning it to its original place and wiping my eyes with my sleeve.

A light on the shelf opposite the desk caught my attention, and I carefully picked up a phone I recognized as belonging to Josh. I swiped across the screen, unlocking it easily – how many times had I told him to put a sodding password on this things?! – and whimpering in shock when I read the first message.

"Oh, god…" I murmured mournfully. "Josh, what have you done?" I read the rest, including Josh's responses and Dr. Hill's (a name I recognized from the folder) increasingly alarmed questions, in a rush, before carefully slipping the phone into my back pocket. Maybe if I went up the mountain a bit I would be able to get some service, and call this Dr. Hill.

I moved on past the desk, veering left to a table with a bunch of boxes on top and a corkboard with pictures of Hannah and Beth, a few mementos and both of their missing posters. I was beginning to understand – Josh had clearly planned something, and whatever it was he had wanted to keep me out of it if his earlier actions were to be understood. However touched I may have felt by the sentiment, I was growing more and more concerned for the others – I didn't know what had happened to Chris, Ashley, Sam, Mike or Jessica, and I could only hope that they were all alright.

Moving again through a doorway – this time on the far right of the room – I took one glance to the absolute blackness on my right and turned left with a humorless chuckle at my own antics, moving through another large wooden door frame and down a few stairs. I crossed to the large, wooden door across from me, but I was unable to open it and peering through the boards revealed nothing by darkness and dust mites. Sighing in disappointment, I turned to the left and noticed a clean, white table with what looked like some sort of tape recorder on it.

"What?" I mumbled, pressing the play button and having to crouch down and brace myself against the table when the words sunk in. "Why? Josh, why would you do this?" I whimpered, tears slipping down my nose and onto my knees. Pushing myself up almost violently, I sniffled harshly and wiped my face on my collar before practically running up the stairs and through – yet another – door-less doorway. I hung a right, moving down a corridor and past what looked like old-timey cafeteria or kitchen doors. They were large with a round, port-hole like window on each one and I eyed them in confusion as I moved past. "Where the hell am I?" I questioned myself, unable to come up with an answer.

Practically bursting with curiosity, I spun around and returned to the large doors, pushing open the one on the right easily (and only being a little disappointed when it didn't swing back and forth on its hinges).

The room inside certainly looked like it might have been a kitchen – were it not for the wheelchair holding a mannequin wearing Sam's clothes and a clown mask.

"Holy shit, oh god, oh no…" I whimpered, dropping to my knees as my mind ran through all the possibilities – what could have happened to Sam, what Josh did to her, oh god where was my brother?!

I scrambled backwards, barely noticing the camera to the right except for a cursory glance as I quickly moved past the wheelchair, through the open door – not without skirting around the vent as well – and down the stairs. There were two doors – the one to my right looked rusted shut, but the one to my left was open, so I stepped through. The room itself was dark and musty, and I coughed slightly on some dust before resolving to breathe through my nose. I passed through a few more doorways before finding myself in another room. There was wire mesh on one side – a bit like a fence – and the other side had a large archway leading to an open and cavernous room. There was a camera to one side of it, but I disregarded it in favor of moving through what I knew was no longer the lodge – I had to find my friends.


End file.
